West Tulsa residents are still waiting for the Reed Park gym to reopen after it was damaged during last spring's storms.
Rain softened the ground enough that an old oak tree fell on the gym's north side May 3, damaging the roof and wall. It happened before a federal disaster declaration, and Parks Director Anna America said the delay in fixing the gym comes down to officials being unfamiliar with using the city's insurance policy for the amount of damage done.
"Because of the dollar level, there’s a state law that says, 'Now you have to go through this other process.' So, that was kind of figured out a month ago when we were ready to do the repairs," America said.
Complicating matters is the unique, geometric stone work on the building's exterior.
"How do you replicate that? Because they’re not made anymore. So, they’re going to have to be — probably create a mold, a new mold to do that. So, it took awhile to sort of figure out how do you do that, who can do that," America said. "And same thing on the inside. It’s just tile in there, but as anybody who’s done a home renovation project knows, matching old tile can be incredibly difficult."
With the gym closed, basketball programs had to be moved and Reed Park's summer camp had to come up with alternate arrangements.
